NASHVILLE – Wide receiver Justin Hunter has been making the eye-opening catches for the Titans so far this preseason.

But it's a less likely name – tight end Taylor Thompson – who leads the team in receptions through the first two games.

Thompson hauled in a team-high five catches for 56 yards in Friday's loss to the New Orleans Saints, giving him eight catches for 89 yards in the first two contests.

"It's a good offense," Thompson said of the new scheme under head coach Ken Whisenhunt and offensive coordinator Jason Michael, both of whom are previous tight ends coaches.

"There are a lot of tight-end friendly concepts, so we're definitely happy about it. We're just trying to be in the right place at the right time and good things happen from there."

Thompson's preseason production is far different from that of last season, when he caught just three passes for 27 yards in four games. That would prove to be a precursor for the regular season, when he posted just three catches for 13 yards in 16 games.

But the new staff seems much more interested in mining the receiving potential of the 6-foot-6, 268-pound Thompson, a fifth-round pick in 2012.

Thompson's first catch against the Saints came from Jake Locker against the first-team defense, and it produced a 20-yard gain. In the third quarter, Thompson caught three passes from Zach Mettenberger on one drive, picking up two first downs in the process.

"It felt good," Thompson said. "We're just all working on the fundamentals, making sure we're in the right place at the right time, getting the right depth on the routes and stuff. It just worked out for me (against the Saints)."

Work in progress: The sight of rookie running back Bishop Sankey running laps around the Titans practice field has become too common for the team's liking at training camp.

Sankey, a second-round pick, runs a lap every time he fumbles during practice.

The problem reared itself against the Saints, when Sankey mishandled a fourth-quarter handoff from Zach Mettenberger, resulting in a turnover at the Titans' 30.

Sankey is the team's leading ball-carrier through two preseason contests with 19 carries for 68 yards, and he's added three catches for 47 yards. But Sankey won't be getting on the field too often if he can't be trusted to hold onto the football.

"I'm impressed with a lot of the things about Bishop, but he's a rookie, and a lot of things that are causing these problems are things that he needs time with and he's got to get better at – whether it's footwork, whether it's how he's taking the balls on handoffs, understanding the protections," said Whisenhunt, noting that Sankey missed the first nine OTAs because of school commitments.

"He missed a lot of time. He's a smart young man, but some of those things, you need to work with. He's got to continue to get those things, because there's no question he's a talented player."

Scheme or sloppiness?:There's little doubt the first-team defense has experienced early difficulties in each of the preseason games.

Part of the problem has to be the adjustment from the 4-3 defense to the 3-4 under new coordinator Ray Horton. The Titans have been practicing the 3-4 for weeks, but that's not the same as playing against an opponent.

"Yeah, game-speed is always different from practice speed," cornerback Jason McCourty said. "We're still getting accustomed to (the 3-4). But we have to make sure we're not hurting ourselves – whether it's execution, technique or lining up the right way. We always have to make sure we're right on point."

Defensive tackle Jurrell Casey was troubled by a more basic problem.

"I would say it was more just the tackling," he said. "I think everyone had good fits. But it was more the first guy not wrapping up and bringing him down, and letting him fall for three or four yards.

"It's nowhere near where we expected. We have a lot of work to do. We're showing flashes of great things, but making too many mental mistakes."

Starter at last?:The Titans have yet to face a starting quarterback in two preseason games. Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees sat out.

But since most teams consider the third preseason game a dress rehearsal of sorts, one would have to think the Titans will see Matt Ryan when they visit the Atlanta Falcons on Saturday.

Ryan has played sparingly in the Falcons' first two preseason games. He went 7-for-7 in the preseason opener against the Miami Dolphins then went 3-for-7 against the Houston Texans.

As for how long his starters will play against the Falcons, Whisenhunt said he doesn't have a timeframe in mind.

"I think for us, this year, we're still in the process of evaluating players," Whisenhunt said. "It's going to depend on what we're trying to get accomplished with certain guys this week. As far as saying we're going to play guys a certain length because it's the third preseason game, I'm not going to subscribe to that.

"I've heard coaches say it's important to go into halftime and come back out. There have been times when I've done that and times when I haven't."